Thousands remain without power in Bucks, Montco

Power crews are working hard to get the lights and heat back on all over the region. Many residents in Bucks, Montgomery and surrounding counties still remain in the dark.

Around the clock really means around the clock for crews who have been working throughout Bucks and Montgomery Counties to restore power.

Levittown resident Tom Terry has been in the dark since Monday, but Saturday evening the lights in his house were back on.

"It was like thinking about the people in the old days; the primitive times where you lived by candles, no heat and you got by with fireplaces," said Terry.

Valerie Patterson knows exactly what he's talking about. Her New Hope, Solebury Township home on Phillips Mills Road was built in the early 1800s and she feels like an original resident.

"I don't think I would have survived very long back then; that's what I figured out about myself," she said.

PECO says Solebury is in one of the hardest hit areas when it comes to outages, but the energy provider says they making progress as the temperatures drop.

PECO is reporting 24,000 customers remain without service in Bucks County, and 12,000 customers remain without service in Montgomery County.

The company also is working to restore scattered outages in Chester, Delaware and Philadelphia counties.

New Hope and Solebury Township are two of the most impacted communities with many residents still in the dark and in the cold.

"The first few days were a lot easier," said Patterson. "Now I think it is really wearing on people. The houses are getting really cold. The nights are getting a lot colder, so the sooner the better."

PECO is optimistic it can restore power to many in the two counties in the next 24 hours, but it will take a few more days for those in the areas with the worst damage.

Bill Kemp who is also without power says one good look around his community and he can see why.

"If it wasn't for the poles snapped, PECO would be able to get the wires up quicker, but with the poles down, it takes a lot longer for crews to get out and put the poles in," explained Bill Kemp.

Some of the crews working in the two counties are from the Baltimore area.

PECO issued a statement on Saturday encouraging customers to hang in there.

"I want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding as we continue to focus on safely restoring service across the region," said Craig Adams, PECO President and CEO. "We know it is hard to be without electric, especially for several days. I want to assure our customers that we will not stop until every last customer is restored."

PECO has also set up customer information centers in the region where customers can speak with a PECO representative regarding their outage: